Acts Of The Penitent — Contrition

By DON FIER

As we briefly surveyed the history of the sacrament of Penance last week, we saw that significant changes in its outward form took place over the course of the centuries.
In her first years, the Church experienced remarkable growth despite facing great persecution — it was a time of many martyrs. “The early Christians,” explains Dr. Alan Schreck, “took seriously the teaching of Paul about becoming a new creation when baptized. It was expected that a baptized person had the grace to avoid serious sin” (The Essential Catholic Catechism, p. 243).
The exercise of the power to forgive sins that was bestowed by Christ upon the apostles and their successors was reserved for those guilty of very serious sins, and absolution was normally not granted until after the completion of a long and severe public penance. Historical evidence confirms that “private Confession” was present from the beginning, but it was not at first the norm.
As Christoph Cardinal Schönborn adroitly observes, “this rigorous discipline proved…to be humanly and pastorally intolerable” (Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church, volume 2, p. 108). In fact, out of fear of falling into serious sin after being baptized, many converts to Christianity were delaying Baptism until late in life to avoid the rigors of public penance.
It was in the seventh century that Irish missionaries, influenced by the Eastern monastic tradition, brought to continental Europe the practice of celebrating the sacrament in the context of private Confession of both mortal and venial sins and receiving a private penance to perform. This opened the way to frequent Confession and “is the form of penance that the Church has practiced down to our day” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1447).
Thus, as succinctly summarized by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, historical development of the discipline of the Sacrament of Penance consists “mainly in a lessening of the rigor and publicity and an increase in the frequency, along with confessing venial sins” (The Faith, p. 124). At the same time, the fundamental structure of the sacrament’s administration has not changed: “on the part of the penitent, sorrow, confession, and satisfaction; on God’s part, the absolution through the Church by her bishops and priests” (ibid.).
It is these three integral acts of the penitent — contrition, confession, and satisfaction — that the Catechism now treats. Together, they constitute the matter of the Sacrament of Penance. The Roman Catechism (RC) from the Council of Trent quotes St. John Chrysostom (c. 349-407) to expound: “Penance compels the sinner cheerfully to undergo all things; in his heart is contrition; on his lips, confession; and in his deeds all humility, or a fruitful satisfaction” (Serm. 1, de penit.; as cited in RC, II, 5, 21 and CCC, n. 1450).
Unlike the other sacraments (with the exception of Matrimony), the matter for Penance is not material or physical, but consists rather in the personal acts of the believer. As Fr. Hardon explains in his Basic Catholic Catechism Course (BCCC), theologians generally refer to these actions as spiritual quasi-matter; they serve a role analogous to the physical matter of the other sacraments (e.g., bread and wine for the Eucharist, water for Baptism) (cf. p. 160).
“Among the penitent’s acts contrition occupies first place” (CCC, n. 1451). But what is precisely meant by contrition? The word’s etymology comes from the Latin contritio, and means grinding or crushing; compunction of heart. The fathers of the Council of Trent defined contrition as “a sorrow of mind and a detestation for the sin committed with the purpose of sinning no more” (RC, II, 5, 23).
In his Modern Catholic Dictionary (MCD), Fr. Hardon expands on this definition by stating that in practice, “it means that a sinner must retract his past sins, equivalently saying he wished he had not committed them. The grief for sins is also an act of the will directed at the state of greater or less estrangement from God that results from sinful actions. Concretely, it means the desire to regain the divine friendship either lost or injured by sin. There must also be a determination not to sin again, which is an act of the will resolving to avoid the sins committed and take the necessary means to overcome them” (MCD, p. 130).
Fr. Hardon goes on to state that four qualities constitute an authentic act of contrition: it must be internal, supernatural, universal, and sovereign. Internal means that it proceeds from the will, and is not just a passing sentiment or an emotional feeling; supernatural means that it is inspired by actual grace and motivated by faith; universal means the penitent’s sorrow extends to all mortal sins committed; and sovereign means the sinner recognizes that sin represents the greatest of all evils and freely intends to make amends accordingly (cf. ibid.).
The Church makes a distinction between two kinds of contrition: perfect and imperfect. The type that the repentant sinner should always strive for — perfect contrition — is characterized by “sorrow for sin motivated by charity, or love of God for His own sake, who is so good and deserving of all our love” (BCCC, p. 162).
An excellent example can be seen on the hill of Calvary in the person of Dismas, the “good thief” who was crucified alongside Jesus. Referred to sometimes as “the thief who stole Heaven,” Dismas admitted his guilt and the justness of the temporal punishment he was enduring; at the same time, he acknowledged the innocence of our Lord and asked for His mercy with heartfelt repentance (see Luke 23:41-42).
What are the effects of perfect contrition? It “remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (CCC, n. 1452). In other words, it “obtains forgiveness of mortal sins even before the actual reception of the Sacrament of Penance,” explains Fr. Hardon, “provided there is a real desire to receive the Sacrament as soon as possible” (BCCC, p. 162).
This is an important provision, for if one’s intention does not correspond to the will of God — if he does not intend to avail himself as soon as possible of the ordinary means established by Christ for reconciliation with his Creator — his contrition, by definition, is not perfect.
Moreover, a person who has sinned grievously “may not, under normal circumstances, receive Communion before he or she has been absolved by a priest in the sacrament of Penance” (MCD, p. 415).
There is a very practical reason for this restriction in that it is not possible for us to know with certainty whether what we think is an act of perfect contrition is truly such. In any event, we should always try as conscientiously as possible to make an act of perfect contrition whenever we have the misfortune of falling into serious sin or are in danger of death.
The other type of contrition, imperfect contrition, is also referred to as attrition. Although perfect contrition should always be sought, imperfect contrition is praiseworthy in that it is “a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner” (CCC, n. 1453).
Fr. Hardon defines it as “sorrow for sin motivated by a supernatural motive that is less than a perfect love of God” (MCD, p. 269). He goes on to list several motives for this lower form of contrition: fear of the pains of Hell and of losing Heaven; fear of punishment in this life for one’s sins; an inner sense of disobedience or ingratitude toward God that gnaws away one’s conscience; and the realization of lost merit or of sanctifying grace (cf. ibid.).
Attrition is true sorrow — often motivated by fear — that disposes one for the reception of grace, for “such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which…will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution” (CCC, n. 1453). Indeed, it can serve one’s movement toward the confessional: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).
“When motivated by faith,” affirms Fr. Hardon, “imperfect contrition is pleasing to God, and is sufficient for the forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament of Penance.” It also is adequate for a “valid and fruitful reception of Baptism by one who has reached the age of reason. And if a person is unable to go to confession, imperfect contrition remits even grave sin through the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick” (MCD, p. 270).

Genuine Sorrow

The Catechism concludes its treatment of contrition by addressing preparation for reception of the Sacrament of Penance by a thorough “examination of conscience” (CCC, n. 1454).
In fact, to be most effective, one should examine his conscience every day before retiring as an efficacious means of gaining self-knowledge and growth in the spiritual life.
Fr. Hardon suggests the following considerations as one prepares for sacramental Confession: a personal review of one’s fidelity or lack of fidelity to the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the precepts of the Church, the virtues opposed to the seven capital sins, and the particular duties of one’s state of life (cf. BCCC, p. 161). The awakening of genuine sorrow should be our objective as we consider our failings.

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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)